Post by Roq on Aug 28, 2011 0:23:58 GMT -5
The Raqqik-Ddaq drew his obsidian Tzk blade over his head, removing the wiry hair-growth from the day before. Satisfied, he tucked the knife in the small sheath that hung around his neck and hid it under his shirt. With a last look around his room, he headed for the palace’s courtyard.
Shining green emerald’s drooped from the distant shadowy ceiling, glittering in the lava light. The coursing lava flow that flowed through the clear moritanium tubing around the jewels before loping down the palace’s walls and deeper into the earth. It was a pleasant light, more green than red, cold and dim enough that his eyes were not pained. Nothing like the hideous blinding harshness of the Upworld’s sun.
“Raqqik-ddaq,” Tror-Jidd Kiq said with a respectful bow, “Everything is ready.”
Roq glanced around the courtyard, noting the twin carriages being loaded with the royal family's luggage, the servant’s supplies and the gifts for the Upworld Queen Ozma. With a slight shake of his head, he glanced at his portly butler. “Except for her majesty’s presence.”
Bowing again, Kiq replied, “Her Tror-Jidd says that she will be down shortly.”
Roq shook his head again and pointed at the ground beneath the carriage.
His butler toddled off, returning a second later with a chained Jaad Nome dragged behind. It’s pale craggy face was oddly indented and covered with crumbly shale-like flakes. It stared up at Kiq with dazed confusion until the butler gave the command for it to kneel on it’s knees and hands.
Roq stepped on it’s back and climbed into the carriage. He had hoped to travel into the Upworld with an Ozian like carriage and horses rather than molting idiotic Jaad’s. It would have made a better impression on Queen Ozma, he believed, and made the Nomes not seem as inhuman as actually were. He hardly think they could properly negotiate with the leader of the O.Z. or the newly created parliament if the Upworlder’s thought they were barbarians.
Roq settled back into his seat and waited for his grandmother’s entrance.
Unlike Raqqi-Tzaq Qartzi, Roq actually had studied humanity. He’d learned their language, read some of their books and kidnapped one to learn from. Dorreen, even in her terror, had revealed much about the squishy fleshy humans. Not much about proper court etiquette, he smiled, but plenty of the subtleties of human expression and linguistics. And he’d even learned words that had no equivalent in the Nome tongue like “love”, “sugar” and “romance”. Seeing things through her eyes, he could almost see how shocking and strange Nome culture would be to the humans. Unfortunately, Dorreen had tried to escape and had to be stoned. He almost missed her weeping pleas and bargaining tactics.
Roq leaned forward to look out the window. Surely his grandmother would be out soon.
Shining green emerald’s drooped from the distant shadowy ceiling, glittering in the lava light. The coursing lava flow that flowed through the clear moritanium tubing around the jewels before loping down the palace’s walls and deeper into the earth. It was a pleasant light, more green than red, cold and dim enough that his eyes were not pained. Nothing like the hideous blinding harshness of the Upworld’s sun.
“Raqqik-ddaq,” Tror-Jidd Kiq said with a respectful bow, “Everything is ready.”
Roq glanced around the courtyard, noting the twin carriages being loaded with the royal family's luggage, the servant’s supplies and the gifts for the Upworld Queen Ozma. With a slight shake of his head, he glanced at his portly butler. “Except for her majesty’s presence.”
Bowing again, Kiq replied, “Her Tror-Jidd says that she will be down shortly.”
Roq shook his head again and pointed at the ground beneath the carriage.
His butler toddled off, returning a second later with a chained Jaad Nome dragged behind. It’s pale craggy face was oddly indented and covered with crumbly shale-like flakes. It stared up at Kiq with dazed confusion until the butler gave the command for it to kneel on it’s knees and hands.
Roq stepped on it’s back and climbed into the carriage. He had hoped to travel into the Upworld with an Ozian like carriage and horses rather than molting idiotic Jaad’s. It would have made a better impression on Queen Ozma, he believed, and made the Nomes not seem as inhuman as actually were. He hardly think they could properly negotiate with the leader of the O.Z. or the newly created parliament if the Upworlder’s thought they were barbarians.
Roq settled back into his seat and waited for his grandmother’s entrance.
Unlike Raqqi-Tzaq Qartzi, Roq actually had studied humanity. He’d learned their language, read some of their books and kidnapped one to learn from. Dorreen, even in her terror, had revealed much about the squishy fleshy humans. Not much about proper court etiquette, he smiled, but plenty of the subtleties of human expression and linguistics. And he’d even learned words that had no equivalent in the Nome tongue like “love”, “sugar” and “romance”. Seeing things through her eyes, he could almost see how shocking and strange Nome culture would be to the humans. Unfortunately, Dorreen had tried to escape and had to be stoned. He almost missed her weeping pleas and bargaining tactics.
Roq leaned forward to look out the window. Surely his grandmother would be out soon.